“There has been a lot of attention given to Arbitrade“ and some have “erroneously conflated” the Government’s approval of a licence for the company to purchase property with due diligence on digital assets, the Premier said, adding that the Government has not “approved any digital asset issued by Arbitrade” and there “has been no licence issued by the Bermuda Monetary Authority to Arbitrade to conduct a digital asset business.”

Speaking in Parliament today [Dec 17], the Premier said, “On Friday during Premier’s Question Time, in response to a question about Arbitrade, I indicated that enhanced due diligence was conducted by way of access to the ‘International Interpol System’. I would like to clarify that statement.

“The information systems used by Bermuda’s Financial Intelligence Agency to facilitate enhanced due diligence requests contain information from multiple sources, not solely Interpol. Though this is a minor distinction, I felt that it was important to clarify for the record.

“Section 18 of the Financial Intelligence Agency Act 2007 gives the Financial Intelligence Agency power to disclose information of its own volition or upon request to the Minister of Finance, if the disclosure is for the purpose of enabling or assisting the Minister to discharge their functions under any statutory provision.

Audio of the Premier’s comments in the House of Assembly today:

“As directed by me, the Ministry of Finance requested additional background information on the company, its principals and its beneficial owners.

“Based upon the information provided by the Financial Intelligence Agency, in addition to the checks already conducted by the Registrar of Companies, the Ministry was able to proceed with the application.

“There has been a lot of attention given to Arbitrade, inside of this House, in traditional media, and social media.

“Some of this commentary has erroneously conflated the Government’s approval of a licence for this company to purchase property with due diligence done on any digital asset issued by Arbitrade prior to incorporation in Bermuda, specifically the Dignity Token.

“I wish to make it clear to this Honorable House that the Government of Bermuda has not examined, scrutinized, or approved any digital asset issued by Arbitrade, and to date no application has been received under the Initial Coin Offering Act for the issuance of a digital asset.

“Additionally there has been no licence issued by the Bermuda Monetary Authority to Arbitrade to conduct a digital asset business.

“The approval for a company to purchase property is wholly unrelated to the Bermuda digital asset regime, and it would not be correct to state that one will affect the other, or to imply as some have, that approval to purchase property is a sign that other approvals are imminent.

Premier’s tweet sent earlier this month making a similar point:

“It is my hope that following this explanation, all persons, both inside this House and outside this House, will allow the process for any licence which may be issued to any company looking to conduct digital asset business in Bermuda to follow its normal course.

“We should trust the systems in place and the independent Bermuda Monetary Authority to protect investors and the reputation of Bermuda,” the Premier added.

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Below is from the Oct 31st Bernews article on the purchase of Victoria Hall.

Premier and Minister of Finance David Burt said, “The announcement of the purchase of Victoria Hall by Arbitrade represents confirmation of their commitment to Bermuda. “Having submitted their application to purchase the building and subsequently passing all financial and background checks, it must be noted that the Registrar of Companies had no objections and the Chamber of Commerce have expressed their support. “We thank Arbitrade for this tangible sign of commitment to Bermuda and look forward to further announcements as the island continues to set the pace for the world in Fintech.”

It sounds as if the Premier is trying to distance himself from what he said when he was also the Minister of Finance. Since when do companies with no business or staff on the island get permission to buy property? The PLP have always been very vocal about non Bermudians buying property yet here is an office building being sold off. Clearly the PLP are now selling Bermuda off to the detriment of future generations.